Until the Fall, My Dear
by Sifirela
Summary: The Ronin are at the end of their ropes. Even months after they had received their armors, bad things seem to happen all around them. An old friend appeals to them to once again bear arms and fight for their lives and their world. They must learn to trust their new allies and also themselves. But most of all they must trust their new armors to serve them and master their fear.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **

**Welcome to a revised edition of Saving Grace, now entitled _Until the Fall, My Dear_ starring our awesome troopers! I've been working on this particular story for a few weeks now, and I now would like to share it with all of you in hopes you'll enjoy it as much as I will enjoy writing to it. I've got it planned out mostly and will further type away at the next coming chapter. The next update? Well I can't say and won't bother to say "I'll have it by next week!" With the way things go with my writing it is sporadic at best. So please follow this story and review :) **

**Also, while they will have allies, it will not be about them. They're more for subplots anyway. I've had to bring in OC's for this particular story based on the fact that they will be needed for future plot twists and whatnot ;) But I'll let you be the judge to tell me if you like them or not. **

**Enjoy! :D  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but story plot and a few OCs. One belongs to my dearest sista LG. Written purely for entertainment.**

_**Until the Fall, My Dear **_**synopsis:**

**The Ronin are at the end of their ropes. Even months after they had received their armors, bad things seem to happen all around them. An old friend appeals to them to once again bear arms and fight for their lives and their world. They must learn to trust their new allies and also themselves. But most of all they must trust their new armors to serve them and master their fear. If they don't, then it could be the end of the world as we know it.**

* * *

**Chapter One**

"An," An old man who sat lotus style near a teenage girl with long dark hair put a hand on her head and softly said, "Do you understand what we ask?"

The girl, An, rubbed her crystal necklace that chimed a few times before becoming silent. "I do." She answered, her voice high with either nerves or excitement. It was hard to tell from the way she looked so determined. Despite what was to come, he knew she was ready. Pulling his hand away, he nodded in absolute understanding.

"Tomorrow then." He said, willing his legs to come out of the tight position. He stretched them out in front of him and sighed, rubbing them gently. "You really are the best, you know that."

"This coming from you?" An said dryly, "How comforting." She took his papyrus paper and rolled it up vertically. She shoved it in her robes and bowed to him. "Tomorrow then."

* * *

"You're going to burn it!" A cry came from the kitchen. Hissing and splashing could be heard with another cry of indignation.

"You're the one who put the damn thing on high!" A male voice cut through the hissing, coughing almost. There was a whoosh and small snap that sounded more like a short explosion. Black smoke started to permeate through the air. Coughing could be heard as an aftermath.

"Rowen," The girl's voice patiently chided, "You know better than to blame someone who actually _knows_ how to cook."

"I know how to cook, Midori." Rowen's face was rather filled with agitation as he pulled the charred spatula out of the young girl's hand. Midori crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot, giving him a pointed look.

"Why is it that you're so smart, yet so inclined to mess up a simple meal as Hamburger Helper, I will _never_ till my last breath understand why." Midori refrained from snickering from the glare she received from the Ronin of Strata.

He poked her with the cooling spatula, or what was left of it and started eddying her to the exit.

"I don't appreciate being made fun of." Rowen said, a steel glint in his eyes.

"Oh c'mon Ro. Stop being such a prude." Midori said with a roll of her dark brown eyes. "You seem to forget you _asked_ me to teach you."

"And I assumed you knew what you were doing." Rowen said with forced patience.

"Assuming can be a bad thing, you know."

"Just get out!"

There was knock on the door that caused Rowen pause of his poking Midori.

"Wonder who that could be?" Rowen asked, lowering the spatula and walking around Midori, "I still want you gone, you imp."

Midori stuck her tongue out at the blue haired warrior and slumped down on the sofa, earning a rich glare from him in response. She stubbornly jutted out her jaw and crossed her arms around her waist, sinking low in the cushions.

Rowen let out an air of exasperation before waltzing to the door and opening it with some gusto as the knocker was now pounding on his door. "What?" He asked bitingly.

Cye Mouri stood there with a shock of reddish brown hair poking out of a backwards blue ball cap. His sea-green eyes held amusement as he looked over the tall lanky Strata bearer to see Midori sunk into the plush beige couch centered in the middle of the living area. He quirked his eyebrows at her and then at Rowen who shrugged.

"She's your problem now." Rowen said as he allowed Cye entrance.

Cye snorted, and shook his head. "My problem now?" His nose scrunched up when the smell of burnt food stung his nose. "What is that smell?"

"That's Midori's fault."

Brown eyes rounded on Rowen, boring a hole into his skull. He dutifully ignored her and sat safely away in a chair.

"What did you do?" Cye asked curiously, sitting next to her on the couch.

"I didn't do anything." Midori kept her gaze on Rowen who continued to look the other way. "This blue haired chipmunk forgot to lower the stove from high to medium and he burnt the damn food. And here he's blaming me for it."

Rowen stared at her in disbelief. "You should know what you're doing!"

"You're an almost eighteen year old man living by himself who's practically considered the biggest genius of our time and you don't even know how to follow a simple direction of lowering heat." Midori shot back annoyed.

"I told you I forgot! Kami, how long are you going to use that useless argument of me being book smart but having no common sense."

"Until the day one of us dies, asshole."

"Do I have to put both of you in time out?" Cye chimed in, his head getting a workout from watching the pingpong game of insults.

"No." Both of them glared at each other. Cye sighed.

"Don't you have anywhere to be, Midori?" Rowen asked her.

She merely shrugged. Some of her long black hair had fell from the ponytail she messily put up to help with Rowen's cooking. It had been the only thing she had set for the afternoon after school. So here she was, still in her uniform of dark green pleated skirt and a white sailor top with the same color of her skirt, in the afternoon when she could have been anywhere but. She only did this in spite of herself because she adored the Ronin of Strata after he saved her from failing the first year of high school. She was very grateful to him, but this was going overboard for accusing her and getting angry with her for spoiling his food _he_ demanded to learn.

It wasn't like Rowen was a bad cook, she saw him cook easier things. But with the comings and goings of things happening over the last few weeks, Midori felt compelled to strengthen his cooking habits; and also cook for him if he didn't really want to learn to show her thanks for his help. That eagerness to help him in return turned out to be a complete fiasco.

It was funny because Midori barely knew Rowen before Cye introduced her to him. She didn't particularly care for his condescending insights or his need to be politically correct all the time. It would cause fierce debates between Rowen and her to the point those who were around them had to leave the room exhausted because neither would give up regardless how out there their answers were.

Rowen looked pointedly at her again, apparently waiting for an answer. Through her musings, Midori hadn't paid attention to where Cye had made his way to the kitchen in order to salvage the food that was left after his arrival.

"Well?" Rowen's voice pierced through her thoughts and she glared at him.

"Well what?" She asked more sharply than intended.

"What are you still doing here? Don't you have anyone else to pester?" Rowen asked with quirked eyebrows.

"I could pester Kento, but he's working right now at his parents. So you're just stuck with me until neesan comes home." Midori stuck her tongue out in response to Rowen's dramatic sigh.

"How is Kyoko doing?" Cye poked his head from the kitchen and frowned. "I haven't seen her in ages."

"She's doing fine. She's busy with school and work." Midori closed her eyes as she yawned and then reopened them as she sighed, "And the hospital visits too."

"Hospital visits still?" Cye frowned as he came back into the living room and sat down on the chair again. "Mitsue still sick?"

"Yeah." Casting her eyes downward, Midori looked sad for a moment before waving it off with a laugh, "She's such a stubborn old fool."

"What's wrong with your mother?" Rowen asked, his eyes adjusted on her for a moment before moving to the outside where the sun was starting to seep through the curtains, casting different shadows around the poorly lit room.

"She has leukemia." Midori said after a while. "They diagnosed her a couple of years ago, but she's been fighting it with chemo." She sighed, "She was in remission for a while but they found another spot."

"Well, she responded to treatment all this time," Cye smiled at Midori before continuing, "She'll pull through."

Midori shrugged, "I hope so. She's so stubborn, so she could fight it."

Rowen didn't know how to respond to the information she had given, because in reality he didn't know how it felt to have someone close to him have a terminal sickness. He could tell by the way she looked it wasn't good, but still refused to say anything about it. Knowing himself, he'd say something wrong and really piss her off if he _did_ open his mouth. He also didn't believe in giving pity, but he could empathize.

Cye seemed to have given Midori a little space as she collected herself and her thoughts. He was back into the kitchen, trying to clean up the mess. Rowen gritted his teeth and looked back to the kitchen entryway, "C'mon Cye, you're giving me a bad reputation! I'm not a bad housekeeper!"

"Not that you are, Ro, it's just the fact that it _stinks_ and I can't stand the smell anymore."

"OCD bastard." Rowen grumped.

Midori snorted and shook her head. "I guess I should go." She said getting up. Her skirt had risen up as she slid off the couch, giving Rowen a glimpse of her backside. He grinned as he looked at her when she turned and straightened her skirt.

"Still wearing granny panties I see. No guy will date you if you continue to wear those frumpy things. Then again, frumpy personalities make for frumpy wear." Rowen smirked at Midori's reaction. Her face had gone tomato red.

"Prick." Midori said, but then raised her skirt again and snorted when his eyes became wide. "You can't even get past the frumpy stage without getting a –"

"Midori!" Cye came in just in time to see the exchange going on. "What in the hell are you doing?"

Midori laughed a little before pushing her skirt down. "Just showing my shorts! See, they're pretty!" She was about to throw her skirt back up when Cye firmly took her arms and placed them at her sides with a stern look.

"Stop being childish." He chided with a sigh. Cye stood there a good minute looking at her before releasing her and walking back to the chair he occupied before. "You're welcome." He looked at Rowen with good measure who stared back at him blankly.

"I'm not being childish." Midori said sulkily and crossed her arms over her chest before she let out a sigh. "I'm gonna go then." She waved them off as she got her book sack together and walked out the door with a grimace.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Rowen looked at Cye. "What do you mean you're welcome?"

"For saving your ass a trip to the emergency room. You burnt the food beyond recognition."

Rowen groaned. "But it wasn't me!"

* * *

Ryo eyed the dark haired girl in front of him with a frown. They were stationed at a local café, sitting near a table in the outside patio. Ryo had no idea why this made him so uncomfortable, but outwardly he didn't show it. He merely continued to stare.

"If you keep eying me like that, Ryo, I'm going to throw my cup at you and hit you on your head." She said calmly, sipping her drink.

Ryo's eyes narrowed and he finally looked away. "Still sarcastic as ever."

There was a clink of her glass being put down before she let out a belting laugh that caused heads of their neighbors to turn their way. Embarrassed, Ryo glared at the girl.

"Elayne." He warned.

"I'm just being honest." Elayne said with a roll of her eyes. "You can't even take a little criticism?"

"I'm not calling that criticism. I'm calling that flat out threatening."

"Sweetie, I don't threaten, I promise and deliver." She popped him on his head before smiling sweetly, "See? Delivered."

Ryo gawked at her with wide blue eyes as he rubbed his forehead. "Very funny."

"I thought so." Elayne said and again sat back in her chair. "You really ought to learn to relax, Ryo." She sipped her drink again and continued to stare at the bearer of Wildfire.

With getting such an intense look in return, Ryo felt himself sinking back like a scolded child. He glared at her. "You're doing that on purpose."

"What on purpose?" She asked innocently.

"Ugh, never mind. What are you doing back in town anyway?"

"I'm hurt that you're not excited to see me." Elayne grasped her heart and pouted. "Shame, I thought you of all people would be ecstatic to see me."

"With you comes trouble." Ryo replied coolly.

"Pah, please. Ryo, trouble pounces on you the moment your foot is out the door." Elayne shot back, cocking him a stare that pretty much stated what all she meant by that statement alone.

Ryo's face flushed and he looked around nervously before slamming his hands down on the table and glared at her. "Look, you called me out here after three years of never once calling me and saying 'hey Ryo, what's up?' and you turn up on my door scaring the crap out of me and you're here joking like old friends. Get to the point or I'm _leaving_."

Elayne just watched him, not answering his outburst. Ryo huffed out strong breaths a few more times and then sat down, calmly, but still eyed her with a harsh look.

"You done?" Elayne sternly said. Her face became hard and cool as she waited for him to answer.

In return Ryo crossed his arms over his chest and waited, giving her a small nod. It was all it took before she launched herself at him and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "The reason why I'm back here is to warn your ass of a potential crisis that I know _you _and the others have been feeling for the past month." She paused, and let go of his shirt before sitting down. She crossed her arms and continued, "And furthermore, I don't have to explain my absence in the last three years because you're being an asshole who should be glad I'm even back." Elayne nervously fingered the jewel hanging on a small chain around her neck.

Ryo let out a loose breath and closed his eyes. His heart was pounding from her spurt of anger and he felt himself shaking a little from the steel glint in her eyes. It shouldn't make him feel out of sorts when she looked at him like that, but with past experiences, he could tell that she really was upset with him and his carelessness. He didn't want to admit but he did feel a bit shamed at his outburst.

It still surprised Ryo at how much Elayne knew about the armors and their past. Even though the events of past battles and wars that the Ronin Warriors fought in, Elayne knew about them in great detail. No one ever even mentioned her while the war was going on, but after Talpa was defeated, and the year that they stayed with Mia as a result of trying to mend mentally and physically with the blessings of their families, the Ronin all found out they knew Elayne personally; having grew up partially with her.

She was sensitive to their power and themselves individually and as a whole mostly due to her upbringing as well. Elayne was, by far, the medium between the mortal world and the netherworld. And in another harrowing surprise, she even knew the Seasonals…it still creeped him out to be honest.

Ryo knew it made her uncomfortable when they mentioned it. It had been three years since he last saw her and, while it hurt that he never heard from her; her reasons must have been valid for her not to tell him.

"Stop deep thinking and hear what I have to say. Or do you want another thumpin?"

Ryo blinked from his thoughts and raised his eyebrows in a fashion of mild surprise. "I'm not deep thinking. I'm merely just appraising the scenery around me."

Elayne rolled her eyes dramatically before kicking him under the table. "Just stop and listen." She said, all play gone. Ryo winced and rubbed his shin with a startled look her way. He narrowed his eyes but did not say anything. "That's more like it." She sighed. "It'd be best if you all regrouped at the Koji Estate as soon as possible. The feeling you've been getting, Ryo, isn't exactly friendly. You have a long and hard battle that's starting now."

Ryo frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Have any of you guys felt a rift beginning between all of you?"

"That was months ago…when Suzunagi gave us our new armors." Ryo said. He never noticed their habits change from real life responsibilities. Now that, though, he thought about it, he hadn't seen Sage or Cye or even Rowen in a very long time. Ryo had seen Kento a few days ago, but, it was in passing. Mostly he'd see them in school, but on breaks and in between they didn't get together to test their abilities with the new armors. Now that it was shoved right in front of his face by someone who knew them more than themselves, it hit him full force. He realized now how tired the guys had felt during their only training session and that was six months ago.

Ryo himself had struggled with training. Just the other day, Mia had commented on how pale he had been. That wasn't what bothered him though. It was the way their armors were counteracting each other. He couldn't put his finger on it, but now? Now that he was vaguely aware? It all made sense.

"There's a new threat?" He asked slowly.

Elayne had assessed the way he was sinking in the small information she had given him. The news that she had given him wasn't the worst, but she would keep that to herself until further notice.

"If you want to get technical. Yeah." Elayne said, rolling her eyes.

"Who is it?"

"Haven't gotten that memo yet. But I have a good guess of who it could be and what they're wanting."

Ryo waited for the answer as he anxiously looked at her, blinking.

Elayne snorted, "Ya never know," She said sarcastically, "it could be the twin of Talpa bent on revenge for the destruction of his or her brother and wants all of your heads! He'd be this tall, lanky guy with a squeaky voice going, "Vengeance will be mine! Wahahahaa!"

Ryo looked like he lacked amusement as he bore into her with his blue eyes. "That's not funny."

"Nothing's funny to you…but you have to admit _it_ would be funny if your next bad guy you are waiting to fight is that. I shall dub him Salsa, and he will wear a mask of a sad clown." She smirked, "Hey, at least he won't eat any of the guys like Talpa did."

Ryo winced and grumbled something unintelligently. Elayne giggled in mirth. This was just too much fun.

Ryo sighed through his nose before getting up and shoving a few yen on the table. "Will you be there?"

"Of course," Elayne said quietly, seeming to be in deep thought before she shoved her hands in her pockets. She already had the chair in place and the money on the table. "Just get the guys to come this weekend and we'll have a meeting." Her violet eyes roamed over the sidewalks and building before they landed on Ryo's.

"Just make sure you tell Mia, of course. I'm not responsible for the reaction if five guys plop back into her life without warning." Elayne said with a grin.

"Ha ha," Ryo said with a roll of his eyes. He was hesitiant as he turned, then offered, "Do you need me to walk you home?"

"Seriously Ryo?" Elayne laughed, and pulled at his cheek. "D'aww, you're worried about me! How sweet!"

His cheeks colored and he glared at her, "I'm not! It's just that…."

"Oh c'mon Ryo. I'm almost sixteen, I think I'm more than liable to walk myself home than the average girl. You boys are so overprotective, it's almost like you're all stalkers." She sniggered when he protested. "Look at it this way, if I'm aducted, you'll be the first to know." She winked before walking away. "Ja!"

Ryo was prepared to watch her walk down the street until he blinked and she was gone, another head in the crowd.

* * *

**I'd like to thank LegendsGuardian for allowing me to use her character, Elayne, from her epic story _The Gathering of the Legends_. Go read! It is REALLY good and you'll get a kick out of it. **


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but story plot and a few OCs. One belongs to my dearest sista LG. Written purely for entertainment.**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"I still don't see what's legit about this, Miss Koji." The beefy man sitting behind the large oak desk said, "Your claims are astoundingly illogical and farfetched."

"But there is _proof_! If you'd get your head out your ass and not worry about what others thought about you-" Mia stopped from launching herself on the man. She wanted to ring his fat neck for scoffing off pure fact that was _proven_ by many scientists who witnessed the so called 'legendary' Ronin Warriors in action. They even had film regarding it.

And here this fatass who had her entire life in his hands thought it was a movie being filmed with great 3D animation added to it. Mia could see her entire project melt out of her hands like liquid wax. "I'm sorry Miss Koji, you already know that if I don't feel there is reputable, hard evidence that these Legendary Ronin Warriors exist, then there is nothing I can do to back your project." He looked at her with kind eyes, but it did nothing to give her respite.

Closing her eyes, she felt her whole body tremble.

"Thank you for your time." Mia said coldly, pulling herself up from sitting and collecting her files that were scattered haphazardly upon the desk.

"I truly am very sorry, Mia." For the first time in the hour long meeting she argued with him, he did look somewhat pitying, but that did nothing to ease her tension. It only fueled her desire to get away as fast as humanly possible.

She let the door slam shut louder that necessary. Despite all of her good intentions, her work, her life, everything that she laid claim to, it all gushed out of her hands like water. It infuriated her.

"Claims my research is illogical and farfetched. I'll show him farfetched." She grumbled as she walked across the huge lobby, past the buxom blonde that was typing away on her computer. The secretary only paid her one glance before she dubiously looked away. Mia, so angry, turned to the blonde and screamed, "ASSHOLES!"

The blonde squeaked, her fingers poised over her keyboard, frozen. Her wide dark eyes turned to Mia who seemed to have come from under a very furious spell before she punched the elevator button. Once inside, she leaned against the wall and groaned. She came here for nothing; _nothing_. She had hoped endlessly that he, who was her last resort, could fund her latest project of excavating a new site with maybe loads of information regarding the Ronin armor.

Mia cursed under her breath. She should have known this was going to happen. She was already warned by several of her coworkers who seemed to have limited patience with her nowadays. It seemed so easy a few months ago to get the green light and she had been able to convince the guys this was for the greater good for their future if they knew more about their armors. In the films they had produced, of course, the Ronin were anonymous. Even the crew hadn't been able to see their faces. They merely wore their mystical armor _and_ impressively used their surekills; away from nature of course.

She wished she had known who could have the authority or even money to give her to continue with her dreams of actually giving her boys the complete background on their new armors. Sure, they knew about the older armors. They derived from Talpa, the self-proclaimed Emperor of the Nether Realm, but these new armors, while a gift from Suzunagi, were truly not Suzunagi's.

The abilities of the Ronin were enhanced perhaps one hundred percent, but they still had yet to understand the use of their armors or even get the hang of it. If Mia didn't know any better, some of them were afraid to use it. She had yet to see them wield it besides to film for her project. The elevator doors slid open and deep in thought, Mia walked out of the entrance lobby. She didn't pay attention to her surroundings as she finally made it outside. So much for being in San Francisco and trying to persuade the renowned President of Excavation Pioneers to be able to help her.

Her phone rang just as she got into the cab she managed to hail. Jumping slightly from her morose thoughts, she looked to see the caller. Smiling, she answered, "Oh, I was just thinking about you Ryo. Hold that thought," She gave the cabbie an address and continued her conversation. "Oh nothing, just coming out of a meeting. No…you didn't interrupt me at all. In fact, I'm really happy you called."

"You are?" His tone sounded amused, though she could hear a hint of satisfaction of her comment. She had to laugh.

"So Ryo, what's up? I hadn't heard from you guys in, a month is it?" Mia asked. She was so frightfully aware that it could have been more than just a 'month' since she had last spoken to any of them. So caught up in her own scheduling and work, she blatantly refused to have anything to do with her immediate social life. And at this moment, she missed them more than they would ever know.

Ryo let out a breath and sighed, "Mia…it's been about two or three months since we've last talked." He said patiently but also in a light tone, added, "Is your old age getting to you again?"

Feeling a bit put out she snorted, "Funny, the way I see it, it takes two ways, bud."

Ryo laughed and then said, "Look, will you make it back for this weekend?"

Mia frowned at the phone and then answered, "I think I will be. I'm finished here. I can catch a flight back tomorrow, if you need me there…"

"Well, if you can't make it that's fine, but I need to ask a favor."

"Go ahead." Mia said tiredly after a pause. She was cautious for the favor. Knowing Ryo, he would need her house for a meeting…or something else…

"We need to use your house as a meeting ground. Mia, there's something going on…"

Mia let out a breath…she knew it. "What's going on Ryo?"

"Nothing too serious yet, but we can't be too cautious and –" He seemed to have hesitated, "Elayne's back."

"Eh?!" She shrieked so loudly, the cabbie pressed on the brake hard; she almost flew out of her seat. She righted herself and gave the cabbie an apologetic smile before resuming her conversation. The cabbie glared at her and muttered something about foreigners as he eased back into traffic without a moment's notice.

"Yeah – and she didn't bring good news with her either."

"No…not now Ryo-" Mia said with a slight panicky voice, "Not yet – you all aren't even –"

"Which is why we need your place, Mia. It's convenient and no one is there at all where we can train in peace…if the guys want to anyway." Ryo interrupted her without a second thought.

"Sure, Ryo – anything you need. I'll – I'll be there as soon as I can..Will Elayne be there?" Mia asked.

"I hope so."

"You hope so?" Mia asked, "If she is here, wouldn't it be fitting…"

"I know Mia but you know how she is with this disappearing act." Ryo sounded annoyed on this sudden topic about Elayne.

This slightly surprised Mia. Ryo had talked so highly of this young shaman because she accurately predicted the war with Talpa to the day the attack would begin. And all this time, Mia thought it was fate or Kaosu who had given them this information. Most of the Ronin knew this too, though, the more she spoke to them over the years after the war with Talpa was over. Six months after the last and final defeat of the Nether World Emperor, Mia had finally met Elayne.

Mia merely had many conversations with her, but never really got to 'know' the young girl on a personal level. Intelligently, she held her own against the Koji scientific analysis Mia gave her, because it seemed the young shaman knew more than she was letting on, but would give good evasive answers. She reminded Mia a lot like Sage…

"She should be there, Ryo, if she says she will be there." Mia replied softly. If it was one thing she hoped she knew of the shaman, it was that she kept her word. Ryo seemed appeased by this as the conversation took on a new light.

They talked a bit more before eventually confirming everything and hanging up. Mia bit her lip harder and looked up at the hotel she was staying at the cabbie had finally dropped her off in front of. A mess of thoughts flew through her mind; but each one was debunked as she walked up to the elevator and pushed the floor number. Things were just not going her way today…She wished Kami would start picking on someone else now…

* * *

"_Meimei…why're you down here?" An ash-blue black haired boy of what looked to be six or seven, peered down under the desk. There, in the back of the opening was a little girl squashed against the wood, shaking uncontrollably. _

_They had been searching everywhere for her, but couldn't locate the girl. Panic had ensued after it had become known she was missing, leaving everyone to search; and without any luck, it resulted in calling the police. It happened to be the owner of the restaurant's son who knew exactly where she was. It was a sixth sense, he realized when he did find her._

"_S'bad Gege….S'bad."_

"_What's bad?" he crouched down and put a hand on her small head. "Meimei," he whispered, "What's wrong?"_

_She leaped into his arms and cried. "You die."_

"_No I won't." he said, smiling at her outrageous words. "I'm still here, Lay, I'm still here."_

"_I know you are, stup'd." She shoved him back and glared with violet eyes. She rubbed them, trying to take away the tears that beckoned to fall again. _

"_Kento, do you really have a long life?" She fiddled the crystal around her neck that chimed a little. _

"_Sure I do," He said proudly, standing up to his full height. He put his hands on his hips. "I'm going to fight evil and vanquish it once and for all! For I am a warrior! Rawr!" _

_Lay giggled, "I don't think warriors make the sound 'rawr." _

"_They do!" Kento said, looking displeased. "You're just too young to understand."_

"_Sowwwwy Gege." She wrapped her arms around him as she crawled out of her space and rested her head against him._

"_It's okay…are you sure you're all right?" He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin against her head. "You're shaking."_

"_I –" She hesitated, "I had a dream about you…and others. It was bad Gege, real bad."_

"_Elayne…nothing bad is going to happen to us…nothing." _

"_Elayne?"_

"Elayne!"

Elayne's eyes snapped open from her small nap. Her eyes stared into worried dark blue ones. Feeling a bit of frustration, she sat up where she was previously laying on the couch.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you." Kento said sheepishly. "I didn't think you heard me when I was saying I'm off now." He wiped his hands on his pants since he wasn't near a towel after washing his hands.

"You didn't wake me, Gege." Elayne said with a small smile, "I was more or less meditating."

"Are you sure you're all right?" He asked, sitting next to her and pulling her into his arms. She resisted a few seconds before resting her cheek against his chest. She heard his heartbeat and it seemed to have calmed her some. That memory she had didn't sit right with her; it was felt more like a warning than anything else. She pulled her legs up and tucked them under her.

"I'm all right." She said softly.

Kento frowned. It was weird hearing her so placid, so _quiet._ Then again it was quite a shock to even have her here in the first place. He was working in the back, trying to place orders and to keep up with the dishes as they had suddenly gotten very busy when he heard his mother drop whatever she had been previously doing and run out of the kitchen like something chased her.

All in all, it was very amazing to see who was in Mama Faun's clutches when she finally let go. He had also dropped everything he had and hurried to hug her to him as well. And with Elayne's nature, the hug only lasted a few seconds before she whapped him upside his head and asked him what he was up to. When they talked a few minutes, he promised her that he would be back in an hour or so since they were still with a rush, and promptly Mama Faun took her to the apartments they lived in on the side of the restaurant.

Suffice to say, though it was very busy, it was an extremely pleasing ending to the day.

"Are you sure?"

"No. I'm not sure." Elayne said sarcastically, "Ya know, because I seem to think I'm in this crisis that needs to be handled by strong, armored men."

"Meimei." Kento warned.

"Wow, you sound almost like Ryo with those warnings, except he calls me Elayne, not Meimei." Elayne grinned.

Kento elbowed her with a smile of his own before settling down and hugging her closer to him. "I'm glad you're here though. Haven't seen you in a long time."

"Glad someone is happy to see me." Elayne said with a chuckle.

"I take it you saw Ryo first?"

"Yah, I did." Elayne said, shoving herself away from him and stretching. She got up and rubbed the back of her head.

Kento watched her closely. She had grown from the preteen he'd always call scrawny into a nicely shaped, yet still awkward older teenager. Her long dark hair was longer than he was used to, and her bangs were in her eyes. The way he saw it; she hadn't changed much in the temperament area, but in the body – well let's just say he felt more protective of her than before.

"You like what you see?" Elayne put her hands on her hips and tilted her head.

Kento smirked and then shrugged, "Maybe…but you're a bit too scrawny for me, MeiMei."

Elayne stuck her tongue out at him. "Do you know why I'm here? And it's not to make out with you."

"Oh…I'm so hurt, Layne, I thought you would find me so hot, you would fall at my feet."

"You may be bishounen, but you're still not my type."

"Who is your type? Ryo?"

"I'd rather kiss Badamon."

"Ouch, that's pretty harsh." Kento said with a grin. He knew she would get sour when he mentioned Ryo. The stories he heard depicted Ryo and Elayne never getting along, always getting into fights. The way Kento figured was, Elayne and Ryo were identical twins when it came to short fused tempers. It was even worse than his siblings all together in one small room. He would not mention that to Elayne any time soon.

"That's reality." Elayne shrugged.

Kento smiled and then frowned, noticing how pale Elayne had become. He looked the other way when she gave him a glare and sighed, "It's bad isn't it?"

"What?"

"The mess we're heading into?" She had yet to mention exactly why she was here. What he could deduce, the way she carried herself the last few hours she had been here, the reason why she was here wasn't one of pleasantries.

"I won't discuss it now. I want everyone around so I won't have to repeat myself." Elayne said with a sigh, "I have to get going Gege, it was nice seeing you." She smiled at him.

"You didn't stay nearly long enough though." Kento frowned.

"I'll see you this weekend. I promise. Don't be surprised when Ryo does call you though."

"Are you going to see Sage?"

"I'll see him at Mia's." Elayne's voice was finite and this caused Kento to look at her with pause and a large frown on his face. "Don't ask, Kento. I'm tired and need rest. I'll see you later." She one armed hugged him and walked out of the room. There was a click of the door, signaling that the girl left the Ronin of Hardrock to ponder what had just transpired.

* * *

Rowen sneezed, and rubbed his nose with a groan. The movie theater had been packed to the point of almost suffocation and irritated the sinuses of the Ronin of Strata. He had such a low tolerance for different perfumes and it so happened that his luck had left him when an older lady sat before him with tons of perfume she had to have bathed in. He sneezed again.

"Bless you," Cye said with a grin.

Rowen sighed, "It's not funny."

"I'm not laughing," Cye said evenly, a chuckle escaping. "I'm just smiling in amusement at how you're still sneezing after we've been away for more than an hour."

"That woman had more perfume on her than a French whore!" Rowen said indignantly. "Man, my sinuses are screwed."

"French whore?" Cye asked. "How do you even know what a French whore smells like?"

Rowen's eyebrows shot up and for a moment, looked downright confused, until his face heated up and he spluttered, "It was a quote my mother would use!"

"Ah huh – sure." Cye said, shaking his head. Rowen stopped in his tracks.

"Cye! I'm serious! I never even met a French whore before!" He shouted. Pedestrians looked absolutely startled at this sudden outburst from the blue haired man.

Cye winced and shook his head, not even tempting to look back or around him. He dutifully kept his head down and sped up.

* * *

Violet eyes bore into pleading brown eyes. He couldn't understand the motive behind this little gesture, but Sage knew that his little sister was anything but innocent. Rising from his seat, he gingerly moved away from the table and poured water in his bowl to soak. He felt her eyes still intensely watching him; but he ignored her and continued to walk out of the kitchen. The chair she occupied screeched across the linoleum floor, signaling that Satsuki had gotten up to follow after him.

"Nii-chan!" She called impatiently, "You promised!"

Sage closed his eyes; counting to ten. "I promised you nothing." He replied, continuing his walk toward the stairs that led to the second floor.

"You did to promise!" She shouted, "If you don't take me, nii-chan, I'm telling Ojii-san about your little-" She quickly shut her mouth as Sage gave her a steely gaze. She continued to stare back, unperturbed by his intense eyes.

"Little shit," He said with a roll of his eyes, "You like to punch below the belt, don't you."

"I learn from the best." Satsuki merely smirked when he stared at her in open disbelief, "Please, please? You promised that you'd take me to meet Yamato."

"Yamato?" Sage shoved his hands deeply into his pockets and leaned against the banister, tilting his head at his little sister.

"Yeah, Yamato, Hideo, the famous motocross rider of like the whole wide world!" Satsuki said excitedly, "You said you raced against him last year and almost won!"

"Pipe down, Suk, you're being too loud about this." Sage stood up straight, and looked around.

"You should know Kaa knows about this."

"I _know_ that…but Ojii-sama doesn't."

In fact, Satsuki and Umeko, his mother, only knew small details about his races. While at first his mother was strongly against it, she saw how free he was when he begged her to see him race. After he initially had won against some professionals who talked more than they bit, she gave him free passage, so long as it didn't interfere with his school work or his training with his Grandfather.

So far, it had worked like a charm; the only thing they didn't know that he kept deep down inside was he had been doing this for years. He first started out with bikes and worked his way up with cars just over two years ago. His mother would have a cow if she ever knew he was thirteen when he discovered his passion for racing. Ultimately and frankly astounding about this whole situation, Sage had began his infatuation when his Grandfather's confidant and close friend had given him an under the radar look at the world in which he now was an almost pro in. He didn't like to brag, but he knew he could beat Yamato if he wanted to, but the risk of getting caught and publicized by the media had already halted his ambition of being the best.

His grandfather would had a firm hand on Sage and reign him back in; calling it an act of rebellion and a disregard for honor that should be implemented in his life according to his upbringing.

"So what? He doesn't know; big deal. I will tell him if you don't take me, Sage. Aren't you supposed to go tonight anyway?"

"I am." Sage said through gritted teeth. "But that doesn't mean I should take you."

"Not like I haven't been there before," Satsuki muttered. At his surprised face, she merely shrugged, "I happen to know how to sneak around just like you, big brother."

Biting his lip, Sage was unsure on how to proceed to disentangle himself away from his pesky sister. But, knowing how his little sister was, she'd get every person he knew involved and, he just couldn't risk that at this point. It seemed Yayoi was teaching her a few pointers on how to get under his skin. Thank Kami Yayoi never found out, that would have been the worst. Sage let out a breath and shook his head.

"Okay, imouto, you win."

"Yes!" Satsuki grinned and did a small jig in her place, "When do we leave?"

Sage chuckled at her over-enthusiasm. "Now…"

They made their way to the closet, and got their things and were out the door in a few minutes time. Just as the door clicked in place, the phone began to ring.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except OCs and plot. Bout it.

A/N: This chapter took me a long time to write, due to the fact that one character was being a pissant and didn't let me go further with one scene. I hope you enjoy it; and as always if you see an error; please tell me about it so I can fix it. Read, Review, fave it! Hope you enjoy Chapter 3!

_**Chapter Three**_

The roaring of the motocross bikes filled Sage with longing. His hands itched to be on the handles, guiding him through the participants who were his rivals. Satsuki and he were able to get into the stadiums free since Sage had perks to enter and exit as he pleased. Of course, today he was a participant in one of the mock-trials out of his need to release certain tensions he'd been feeling since over a year now. It hadn't been easy, but even after he received his armor from Suzunagi, he didn't feel much ease. In reality, he could be pegged as the most scared to don the armor.

He had thought, for a time, he could pursue a normal life; a life he so chose to live. But, as he should have accepted the fact that life for his comrades and he, it didn't seem likely he would ever get what he desired.

Sage was jolted out of his thoughts when Satsuki poked him in his waist. Looking down at his shorter sibling, he quirked an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Yamato, Hideo is here, and he's walking our way." Satsuki pointed to a much taller, leaner man walking their way; already dressed in his motocross gear, minus his helmet. His long shaggy black hair reminded Sage of Ryo, but it was traced in blonde highlights and cut a different way. Yamato's face was rounder, and held a very noble presence. He broke into a wide grin that calmed his fierce look and clapped Sage on the forearm.

"Date! So nice of you to join us." Yamato beamed at Sage like a proud older brother. His dark eyes turned to Satsuki with interest. "Oh, you've brought a girl." He smiled at her, only to hear Sage abruptly clear his throat.

"Suki, this is Yamato, Hideo; the greatest motocross rider in all of Japan, as you've stated this morning. " Sage outwardly looked at her stoically; inwardly he was chortling at her glare she was currently giving him. "Yam, this is my little sister, Satsuki, who is only fifteen." He glared at Yamato who blinked and then belted out a nervous laugh.

"Oh yes. Of course." Yamato cleared his throat and bowed his head respectfully. "So, I hear you're my biggest fan then?"

"I don't believe I am your biggest fan, not as bad as this one here who has a motocross shrine in his bedroom." Satsuki jabbed a thumb toward Sage who looked quite appalled. He stuttered a few times which made Yamato chortle along with Satsuki.

"Well, between you and I, Satsuki-san, you're probably right." Yamato winked at her. "I bet he finds that I exude passion, and grace, and poise."

Sage snorted, "Yeah, right. You keep dreaming yourself awake, and you'll find you're living a nightmare."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If you exude passion, grace and poise, you're pretty much very gay." Sage said with a shrug, getting a very shocked look from Yamato.

Seeming a bit put off, Yamato slightly chuckled. He ran a hand through his stylistically unkempt hair and frowned. A cool, brisk male voice came over on the intercom to ask all riders to report to their places. The races were about to start.

Sage looked at Satsuki with a grin, "Go, and find a seat in the stadiums and watch." He started to follow the departing Yamato who waved at Satsuki.

"Good luck, Seiji!" Satsuki cupped her hands in front of her mouth and shouted.

Sage grinned, and gave a peace sign before disappearing around the trailer with several people buzzing around trying to help the owner of said trailer to get ready for the race.

* * *

Ryo stared at the phone in his hand, frowning. He tried several times to call the Date household, but he'd always get the same answering machine message to leave his name and phone number, that they would get back to whoever was calling as soon as they were available.

He left three messages in hope one of the Date family members would give Sage the message. He had even tried Sage's cellphone, but Sage must have turned it off.

It worried him; he had gotten in touch with all of the others, but Sage was being the most elusive. Ryo would probably have to just go to the Date household and see if he couldn't find Sage there. Casting a look at the white tiger slumbering on the bed, tail flickering back and forth as if content, Ryo sighed. He hoped White Blaze didn't try to follow him out, since the tiger gave his landlord a scare several months back.

After several pleas and promises that the tiger would be removed to a different, safer location, Ryo had finally stopped getting unannounced, random inspections. And with no more surprises, and everything going back to normal, White Blaze suddenly started staying with him once more.

It didn't bother the Ronin of Wildfire one bit. He needed the company more than ever now that things were about to get very crazy. He wondered how they would react when he'd give the news of something sinister that was already starting to take over and had been for the last few months. Is that what Elayne was saying, specifically?

His head hurt from the crowded thoughts that went back and forth in his mind. It was hard, but he knew that it must be done. They had to know; even if it was something he swore if they would be called to arms again; he'd make sure to see if he could be the only one to suffer with fighting.

But, as eager as Ryo was, the new threat that he felt was much stronger and stealthier than Talpa ever dreamed. Then again it could have been the fact that they somehow felt weaker, and more divided even before Suzunagi's hand in their new armors. One reason Ryo knew all too well was of the fact he, himself, felt the tension the armors gave to the point it stressed out everyone. Their untapped enhanced abilities were still steadfastly growing day in and day out; he could feel the apprehension that grew within his comrades.

Now to add the fuel to that wild fire that was spreading haphazardly, it made Ryo on edge. And he knew that was why Elayne parted with him without giving too much away right then and there. She was one to conserve all her energy in pronouncing the inevitable to those who wished to remain as normal as possible.

With Ryo's father constantly on assignments across the continents, and being trained since an early age to fend for himself, he was used to not having anything to go home to or for that matter; not being afraid to leave anything behind.

His only concerns were for his comrades and best friends that he'd come to know and love over the last few years.

A growl from the white tiger caused the bearer of Wildfire to remove himself from his morbid musings. He shook his head to clear it and looked at White Blaze who was still slumbering on his bed.

His only fleeting thought as he departed was the big house cat better not shed all over his bed or there would be hell to pay.

* * *

Sage pulled his bike beside Yamato who gave him a sharp acknowledging nod. Sage mirrored Yamato before focusing his attention on the dirt road in front of him. He had a good chance today at beating Yamato, but it was his conscious that was at war with itself. He had the choice to let Yamato once again take the lead, or he, Date Sage, could easily overpower him. It was a gamble he was urging himself to take; but the dutiful part of Sage felt he couldn't risk the odds of these sports fanatics finding out who he was, thus putting his name in public where his grandfather could see.

A rebellious thought, but he couldn't help himself from getting himself mentally ready for the win. He could show his grandfather that life wasn't all about the art of Kendo or even teaching it. He could enjoy other passions as well, just like he did with meditating and the bamboo flute. This, of course, was considered much more dangerous than those ambitions.

He revved his engine. He was waiting with bated breath for the signal to tell them to start.

How long would it take Sage to overpower them? To compensate for his last lost and almost humiliation?

He shook his head to clear it. He was not going to fail; even if it cost him his freedom. Sage had to smile at his gloomy thoughts. Here he was seventeen, a Ronin Warrior who helped defeat the Emperor of the Netherworld, _twice_, and he was scared of his grandfather's wrath.

If his grandfather would have been the Emperor… he really didn't think he would have survived. His grandfather was a figure of twice the scariness Talpa ever was. Snorting back a laugh, he revved his engine again. At long last, the signal came and the riders were off.

Sage weaved his way easily through the crowd of motocross bikers. The roaring of the bike deafened all of his previous thoughts and he felt, for the first time in a while, free.

He couldn't hear what the commentator was shouting over the intercom, but he knew without a doubt he was at least second place. There was another rider on his right keeping pace, his long ponytail flapping in the wind like a black slithering snake. Eyes narrowing, Sage pressed the brake ever so slightly, slowing down to ease his way to be on the right side of the ever present rider. He then pressed the pedal and flashed forward, smirking all the while leaving the rider in his wake. Spotting Yamato's bike coming fast up ahead, Sage felt a surge of excitement. This was it. This would predetermine who would win this and it would help Sage prove his worth.

It was a silly notion to even think this would prove his worth to people that insisted they knew him so personally. But they didn't know a damn thing. He was deprived of a normal life thanks to his upbringing and his armor. His rigid personality was just a ruse, really; to please his grandfather and to make sure no one could read his thoughts. It worked very well; almost too well. The only one to have seen him shed a few tears was Rowen, but he still lacked the initiative to know what Sage was truly capable of.

Flying forward, he was now keeping pace with Yamato at this point. Yamato's head whipped around, as if startled by the oncoming rider who had somehow gotten through the threshold of riders that were faraway at this moment.

Sage gave a short wave and pressed his pedal to go faster. He was about to pass Yamato when Sage heard a pop and felt something hard hit his helmet. It caused him to stagger on his bike, but he managed to catch himself in time to avoid another piece of rubber hitting his helmet. Yamato's back tire had suddenly exploded, throwing remnants of rubber everywhere.

Sage avoided it with ease; gathering his wits and directing his bike around the champion. Relief swelled over him and he thanked whatever had come to his aide to be in first with all his might. Laughing quietly to himself, he pushed his bike's limits as he made lap after lap with no difficulty; knowing that the ones behind him would not take the lead any time soon.

Sage wondered if Satsuki was watching his path to victory. Against his better judgment, and in the lead with only one more lap to go, he couldn't help but glance in the somewhat filled stadium to see if Satsuki was waving her arms for him to see her. It only took that one second to cause something bad to happen.

Sage's eyes widened in seeing a dark haired teenager standing against the fence, her arms over the bar, looking intently at him. His breath hitched and heart lurched, the bike following the rapid beating of his heart as he lost concentration on his task at hand. Sage took the curve too loosely and felt a jolt as he rammed into the barricade sideways. He tried desperately to keep control over his rogue bike, but Sage knew by then it was futile. He heard the crowd groan and the commentator say something in a disappointing lilt as he came to a startling stop that caused him to come up from his position. He banged into the ground as his bike finally lulled to a stop in a heap near the finish line.

Disappointment surged through him fiercely as he watched the long haired biker finish first place. Cheers roared through the stadium from the limited onlookers while some booed for Sage's sake. He still felt no respite due to how he lost. He was so close – oh so _close_. He slammed his gloved fist into the ground, making a dent in the dirt. He cursed under his breath as he looked around to see where the dark haired teenager went. He had seen no sign of her after looking for a few minutes. Paramedics came to help him; but he politely refused their attention as he got up and took his bike to be cleaned and put away. He had gone to congratulate the biker who won, but stopped in his tracks when he noticed that the biker was not a man, but a woman – well a teenager his age, he supposed.

Sage felt a burning sensation fly across his senses as he saw red. He couldn't believe it…A girl had beat him? A _girl?_ He knew girls were not weak as his mind was insisting, but he couldn't help but feel a bit insulted that a girl beat him at his sport that he was really good in, aside from Kendo, and his other pursuits.

He squelched down the anger, put his bike up, and spent his time looking around; trying to find the person who was responsible for his failure to achieve what he wanted. The distraction that allured him to his victory's demise.

He stopped short upon seeing Satsuki enjoying a snack from one of the vendors. She was talking animatedly with a girl with long dark hair, pulled into a ponytail. Her stance was just as he remembered it.

"Oh hi Sage!" Satsuki said brightly, "Shame you lost,"

Sage's eyes twitched from his little sister's careless tone and cleared his throat. "You could have more sympathy for your elder brother who was about to win, you know. And, _you_," he pointed at the tall girl who looked back at him with hardened violet eyes, "what are you doing here?"

"Is that how you greet your imouto, Seiji?" Elayne said coolly as she crossed her arms; her eyes still held the detached look.

"Hardly." Sage said bitingly, "You could give someone a warning before you show up and surprise them."

"Now Seiji, what did we learn from our previous visit? _Never_ accuse someone without valid reason and valid, hard evidence that you can back up with facts."

Sage worked his jaw and stared at Satsuki. "Let's go."

"I'm not ready to go, niisan." Satsuki groused, "Just because you're bitter because you lost to a girl…"

"I am _not_ bitter…now let's go; it's getting late and I have class to teach." Sage then let his eyes fall on Elayne. "You better go back to wherever you came from. You're not welcomed here."

Hurt flashed across Elayne's face before she masked it. She snorted, "Typical."

"With you, comes trouble, Elayne. I don't want any part of it."

"You honestly _think_ I wanted to be this!" Elayne raged hotly. She pointed an accusing finger at Sage. "You of all people should understand I do not want _any_ part of this yet you all drag me into this and blame _me_! _Typical!_."

Sage worked his jaw a bit before turning his back on her. As far as he was concerned, the last time they were even in a close vicinity of each other had bad end results and clearly still in the air.

"Come on, Layne, you're welcomed to our house. Regardless of what Old Dragon jr. thinks." Satsuki said the last part so Sage could hear.

Sage stopped in his tracks and turned to glare at Satsuki who only waved him off boredly. "I don't care what negative history you two have with each other; but this is my visit with my sister so shove it where the sun doesn't shine, Sage and walk with it happily until you get over yourself." Satsuki looked at Elayne. "Kaa-san would absolutely go crazy seeing you,"

Elayne smiled, "Well, I guess I can spare a few hours to see Umeko-san."

* * *

The girl kept a close eye on the retreating forms, one stoic young man, two girls who were chatting animatedly with each other. It seemed like they were a family of three siblings, with the older brother looking around as if ready for an attack, and the girls just enjoying each other's company. She saw the dark haired, taller girl glance her way with a steely gaze, before bring their attention back on the shorter one. A thrill went down the girl's back and she smiled. Soon…it would all be out in the open soon…

* * *

After taking his leave from Rowen, Cye had taken his usual mission to the store and then home to his apartment. On his way, he thought about the implications behind Ryo's urgent request they take a break from life and go up to Mia's. Ryo cited the need of this particular outing was because Mia was due to arrive that Saturday morning, and it would have been good if all five Ronin took the initiative to greet her. It would also put all of them in better spirits.

Cye had his doubts. He wasn't much for an outing; especially if it had anything to do with all five of them together again. It was strange, and a bit odd that the last time they had been in close range of each other; it had turned sour very quickly. Being with one of them one on one didn't seem to bother him…and that sentiment seemed to outreach all of them.

Shaking his head out of his thoughts, Cye pulled his keys out from his pocket and went to open the door when he felt hands over his eyes.

"Guess who!"

"Mid!" Cye said with a grunt, whirling around. "Don't _do_ that."

"Jumpy little fishy aren't we…"

Cye ignored her and opened his door. "What do you want?"

"I only wanted to stop by and visit. I went back to Rowen's apartment, but no one was there." Midori said as she walked in behind him.

"I thought we informed you that we were going to the early show tonight?" Cye said, pulling his sweater over his head and laying it over the chair. He quirked an eyebrow at Midori; he watched her sit down on the edge of the sofa with a despondent look.

"You all right?" He asked, sitting beside her.

She sighed, "Yeah, I'm fine." She paused a little before catching the skeptical look on Cye's face.

"Mid, I think knowing you all my life has given me the initiative to know when you are fine…Tell me." He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He rested his chin on the top of her head.

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I feel – weird."

"Weird?" Cye asked, confused.

"Yeah – restless. Like, something bad is going to happen."

Cye blinked before he smiled. "It's probably just stress from your mother's illness. It'll get better when she's in remission."

"I don't know Cye…I didn't feel this dread when she first found out, and this time is no different; I just feel a constant nagging feeling that won't go away." Midori said, her face distorted in between thoughtfulness and agitation. "I had a dream about you." It seemed she finally got to the point. "And Rowen…and three others…I'm guessing they are your friends – and they were wearing these weird objects."

Cye's eyes became wide as saucers as he looked down at her; but she was so much into her story she was telling him, she never noticed. "There was this great big streak of light that came upon you all and struck you dead. I was there but I couldn't do anything about it; nor could I scream."

Getting a hold of himself after a few quiet moments, he chuckled. "Do you honestly believe dreams, Mid?"

"But it was so realistic! And the feeling I'm getting-are you hiding something from me, Cye?" Midori was quick to pick up on the hesitation of the accusation.

"N-no." Cye stammered from the severe look she gave him. "I'm just saying that when do dreams really come a reality? Aside from some dreams you have had." He added when she was about to open her mouth.

"I don't know – I just, just can't help it. I get gooseflesh every time I think about it." As a reaction to the thought; she rubbed her hands over her arms.

"Mid, I wouldn't worry about it." He said calmly, running his fingers gently in her hair. Deep inside though, this worried Cye – did she have a second sight; or anything specific to that; much like Elayne had years ago? He mentally shook his head…no, he wouldn't believe that. He squelched that feeling down, buried it deep within him. "When is Ky supposed to come home?"

"She was supposed to be back around six but she said she had something to do." Midori said with sigh.

"Poor Middie." Cye said with a chuckle. He grabbed her cheeks and pulled. A loud slap was an answer to Cye's prodding. "You hit hard, for a girl."

"I can hit worse, bud. Keep on putting your hands on me, and you'll see!"

"Oh I love when you talk like that, baby." Cye sniggered as Midori elbowed him hard.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but story plot and a few OCs. One belongs to my dearest sista LG. Written purely for entertainment.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Mia rubbed her forehead, a headache had formed at the base of her temples; mostly due to the fact that she had taken three flights; all consisting of being late. She had to call Ryo and tell him that she wouldn't be back until late, and for the guys to just make themselves at home. Being a bit disappointed she wouldn't be able to see them until late Saturday afternoon didn't quite get her upset as it did to know that she wouldn't possibly if there was an overlay get there until early to late Sunday afternoon.

She looked up at the scheduling and let out a groan. Another two hours and she would hopefully be back on a plane.

* * *

"I'm so glad you came over to see us, Ryo." Date Umeko handed Ryo who was sitting on the high back chair in the dining room a glass of water. "I'm so sorry we didn't get the messages sooner or we would have tried to find out where Sage was." Umeko looked around worriedly over toward the clock over the hutch.

"No worries, Mrs. Date, I was only passing by to give word to Sage that Mia would be in town soon and wanted us to have a get together. We hadn't seen each other in quite a while." Ryo answered with a polite smile. He too had looked at the clock when he saw Mrs. Date glance at it.

Mrs. Date laughed, "Oh please, call me Umeko or Ume. I know I'm pushing fifty but I have a few good years before I turn into an old woman."

Ryo chuckled and nodded, "Okay Mrs….I mean Ume-san."

"That's more like it." Umeko said with a satisfied smile. "So how are you? And your gorgeous tiger? Is he still giving the landlord a run for his money?" Umeko had an amused look on her face.

Ryo hadn't at the time thought it was funny to get reprimanded over a tiger that scared the whole population of the apartment building. Umeko, however, thought it was absolutely hysterical and laughed about it for months. He knew she still probably chuckled over it when she thought about how the manager of the apartments screamed like a young girl and ran, trying to climb up a pole.

"He's all right. Actually," Ryo admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, "I have him back at the apartment."

Umeko laughed, "Did he scare any more tenants?" She asked eagerly.

It was strange to Ryo that this woman was even Sage's mother. Her personality and his were clear as night and day.

"I haven't received an eviction notice yet." Ryo said with a chuckle and shook his head.

"Well that's the spirit. Keep him there. I'm sure he's such a smart kitty." Umeko said, sipping her tea. "You must have been very lonely being by yourself all the time."

Ryo looked away embarrassed. She had said a partial truth; he was at times lonely, but he'd preferred that instead of being in the presence of someone who made him feel lonelier. He didn't dwell on it long as the door opened.

"Tadaima," a tired voice came from the foyer. Sage appeared in the dining room, looking quite out of sorts. Ryo's head perked up at hearing his voice. Sage stopped shortly, and stared. "Oh, I didn't know you were here, Ryo." He stood rooted to the spot and didn't seem to notice when Satsuki ran into him from behind.

"Ouch, Sage, why don't you tell me when you're going to stop?" Suki grumbled, shaking her head. Over Sage's shoulder, Satsuki saw the reason Sage stopped so abruptly. She smiled and waved. "Hiya Ryo!"

"Hello, Satsuki." Ryo waved at her with a pleasant smile and looked at Sage who had a poker face. Ryo knew all too well what that face meant; and Ryo felt something stir within his armor that brushed against his senses that was radiating from Sage. Ryo didn't quite understand the significance and really, he didn't have time to dwell on it. In fact, the thought was simply thrown out the door when Elayne stepped around the two siblings and waved at Umeko who gasped loudly. Umeko had stood up the moment her eyes lay on the apparition she hadn't seen in quite some time.

"Oh An-chan!" Umeko cried happily, walking hurriedly to throw her arms around Elayne's shoulders. Umeko hugged Elayne hard, and squished Elayne's body to hers. All Elayne had the chance to do was laugh and look quite embarrassed.

"Oh kaa-san," Elayne said with a smile, pulling herself away. "It's been ages, ne?"

"Yes, it has!" Umeko stated with a mirrored grin that soon turned into a reprimanding frown. "You could have called! I'll have to set up a room for you in an i—" She was cut off before she could resume her tirade by Elayne putting her hand up.

"I already have prearranged lodgings, kaa." Elayne looked a bit apologetic, rubbing the back of her head. Umeko put her hands on her hips and had an odd look on her face. "I will be visiting as much as possible, though." Elayne said after a brief interlude of silence. "I can promise that, if you'll have me."

"Oh Layne, you know that wouldn't be a problem!" Umeko again threw her arms around Elayne in a bone-crushing hug. Satsuki chortled at Elayne's wince.

Sage ignored the passing of what happened between the women and had his eyes solely for Ryo who in turn looked at him.

"What's up, Ryo?" Sage asked, bringing the female occupants of the dining room to stop their chatter and look in between the two Ronin. Sage had a very guarded look on his face. Beforehand he had been annoyed, now, Sage radiated an agitation that could only be prompted by the presence of the Ronin of Wildfire and Elayne. Sage knew something was up, and by the time Ryo stood up and had the edgy countenance Sage was more than convinced. "What's going on?"

"I called here and your cell phone in which neither you answered, so I left messages. Within an hour of not getting any returned calls, I assumed you were busy; so I stopped here and was hoping to either meet up with one of your family members or you." Ryo said in one breath.

Sage sighed and looked at his mother. "Kaa, do you mind if Ryo and I talked privately?"

"Didn't know you were into that, Seiji," Elayne said in a snarky tone.

Sage merely gave her a lidded look. Umeko didn't seem to notice the passing between self-proclaimed adopted daughter or son.

"Not at all," Umeko answered as she wove her arm around Elayne's shoulder and gently guided Elayne to the living area. "We have so much to catch up on." She said as Satsuki followed. Satsuki gave the boys a look that rivaled Sage's and all three females departed. Ryo took this opportunity to escort Sage to his room.

* * *

"Did the plans go accordingly?"

Dismal eyes stared down pensively at the dark skinned man who was bowing low on the ground. He was in front of the giant, lean man who was sitting on a high-back throne that was in the center of the large stone structured room. His gray hair fell in waves around his broad, blank face.

"Yes, your majesty." The bowing man stood up to his full height, his right hand pulled into a fist over his heart. "It is going accordingly and my people have established a time to execute the plan further."

"I put it in your hands, and expect it be completed with perfect results. Otherwise," His eyes never left the man in front of him; the man who seemed to have only one stoic facial expression seemed to have flinched at the muted words that hovered from his master's lips. He nodded, and with no further discussion, he left the chambers. The master's eyes swept across the room, and fell upon a large stone basin. With a swipe of his hand, ivory substance rose with a gush and expanded out like a large monitor. A young woman with long red hair appeared on the screen with the background of strangers seated around her. He tilted his head and smiled. He waved his hand again after staring at the girl for quite some time and the substance fell with a splash back into the basin.

* * *

Sage led Ryo to his room that was down a hallway to the left of the dining room. When Sage opened his door, Ryo was greeted by a brightly lit room with the barest minimum of comfort. It contained a bed that was on the far left of the door, covered in moss-green sheets and blankets. Near the bed was a small wooden bedside table with a white reading lamp. On the opposite side of the bed sat a simple brown dresser and a small desk with a laptop sitting on top of it. The walls were a bright mint green, while the floor was carpeted in soft beige, giving an ambient feeling as Sage made his way to his closet near the foot of the bed. He slid open the closet door and hung his jacket he had previously taken off while showing Ryo the way.

He turned to Ryo with a grimace, held out a hand as if to suggest Ryo take a seat at the desk chair and sat down on his bed. "Now," Sage said at last, fiddling his thumbs as he looked all around but where Ryo sat.

Ryo didn't know what to expect in the room of Date, Sage. Though Ryo didn't exactly know Sage personally, such as what his favorite tastes were in any kind of thing teenagers these days enjoyed, Ryo thought for sure at least his room would be normal. But, to the downright pin-straight cool attitude Sage had outwardly, Sage's room told the same story his social personality gave; conformity at best.

"What is going on?" Sage asked.

Ryo rubbed the back of his head. "There's a lot going on; for one, Mia's due back—"

"So you said," Sage immediately interrupted his leader and gave him a lidded look, "I don't care about that, Ryo. I'm more concerned why you allowed Elayne back here."

Ryo gave him a quizzical look and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "I wish you'd leave what happened in the past. This is serious."

"And I'm being serious. Every time she's here, something happens. It's one of the many reasons –"

"Look, I didn't come here to hear your petty remarks about a girl who apparently has no more value to you than a bad hair day." Ryo ignored Sage's glare and continued, "This is very important and whether you like it or not; Elayne's a part of it. It's something I've had to come to terms with too. And I'll be damned if I'll let some petty ass shit that happened years ago get in between saving the world."

Sage closed his eyes after paling, then reopened them. He focused not on Ryo but on his hands that were now looped together, placed on the cap of his knee. "Are you saying you need us to become heroes once again?" he twisted his lips into a bitter frown and then looked at Ryo with less than pleased eyes, "Wield the armor again like some chained, starved dog?"

Ryo didn't seem at all surprised by Sage's coldness. In fact, Ryo was depending on it more than anything; because if he could convince Sage to join up again, he was very well on the right course to invoke some kind of kindred spirit back into the others.

Sage may have sensed this; but he gave no acknowledgement to Ryo's reasons.

"Something like that." Ryo said with a nod.

Sage let out a sigh. "I don't know if I can do that, Ryo." He said softly.

Ryo tilted his head, "Why? Does it have something to do with your armor?"

"He's scared, that's what." A bored voice came from behind Sage who stood up in a heartbeat, catching his chest to stop his heart from escaping. "You're losing your touch, Seiji." Elayne looked displeased at Sage before she looked at Ryo, "Could you please crank out the whole reason we're here so that I can go home. I'm tired and have a long weekend with dealing with stupid boys."

Sage gritted his teeth and rounded on her. "What is wrong with you!"

Elayne snorted, "You're really asking such a question with an obvious answer. Seiji, you seriously have lost your touch."

Sage's mouth was a hard line before he looked back at the Ronin Leader, "Explain what is going on."

"Isn't it apparent?" Elayne cracked out, ignoring Sage's glare. "Ryo, I'm sorry but you take too long in trying to explain stuff to people. With idiots like him, you have to hit him in the gut while trying to explain something so simple to such a hard head."

"I'm warning you, Elayne." Sage said, his tone cold and hard.

"Warning me with what?" Her tone matched Sage's. "Warning me against telling you that you're an idiot for ignoring all possible signs of an enemy taking over subtely because of your fear of your own power?"

"I do not fear my own power." Sage leaned against the wall stiffly. He crossed his arms and rested the bottom of his foot on the wall. "I merely-"

"'Don't trust what you don't understand.'" Elayne interrupted, "Yeah, we got that already. You've always been one to never fully rely on your own power."

Sage gave her a nasty look from under his thick blonde bangs. "Same goes for you."

Elayne pointed an accusing finger at Sage, and looking livid, said through gritted teeth: "You have NO idea what you're speaking of. So I suggest you shut up."

Sage snorted, "Did I hit a nerve?"

"What in the world are you two talking about?" Ryo asked with a heavy frown. He was aware that their squabble had been weak, even inconsequential to the point of easy forgiveness. If he was told correctly and remembered well, the reason why Sage was so mad at Elayne for some time was because she refused to help them out with the war and tell them key facts about Talpa and the armors themselves. Like the fact that they were once part of Talpa and the fact that she was there for most of the journey but didn't elaborate where she was. It even agitated Ryo to know that Elayne was there and even for an eleven year old she had the tenacity to hide without letting her niichans protect her.

She of course scoffed at all of this when Ryo had asked her today before she disappeared once again after he met up with her on the way to the Date household.

Sage looked downright amused when he looked at Ryo, "Why, didn't she tell you? She's afraid."

"Of what?"

"_don't_ you even say anything." Elayne said, close to Sage's face in a heartbeat. Sage merely looked down at her.

"What are you going to do? Huh?" Sage said leaning down to face her, "Harm me? Cut out my tongue to make sure I don't speak your dreaded secret that _you_ didn't even want me finding out."

A fist connected with Sage's jaw, causing the back of his head to hit the wall with a low thud. He slid down with confused and shocked eyes as Elayne stood there, her fist still out where Sage once stood. "Don't ever, _ever_ bring any of this up again. Do you hear me!" Her voice was low, irritated and the cause the back of Sage's hair to stand on end. Her eyes changed with a darker overtone before they shifted back to her usual violet. They still held the anger that was radiating from the small statured girl.

Sage turned away his face and glared at the floor, but did not say anything. Elayne must have taken this as a silent vow and straightened up. Her face was cool, collected by the time she looked at the stunned Bearer of Wildfire.

"This is why I hate getting involved." Elayne spat; her face had a tinge of red and to Ryo's immense surprise, tears that escaped fell down her cheek.

"Elayne." Ryo's voice was low as he stood. She held a hand that made him stay.

"I'm fine." She wiped her face like she was pushing a few strands of hair away. "Listen, Sage, and you too Ryo. Time is running out and if you do not agree to be a part of this, if you all fail to come together this weekend, it could just be very well the end of the world. I know you've heard it before, but it will be if you can't get all of your acts together." She glared at Sage briefly before turning to Ryo. "You may also want to ask Mia when she arrives to look up potential allies, because as far as I'm concerned, you cannot defeat and protect what is most precious by being divided."

"Allies?" Sage asked, his voice soft.

"Yes, allies, helpers of the defenders. You know, the sidekicks that can take care of what you cannot. Ones that have your back." Elayne said sarcastically.

Sage stood up and merely looked at Ryo, "When do we meet up?"

"We meet up at Mia's around noon. How we get there, well, I believe Kento wants to use his van. We can – oh c'mon Sage, he's not that bad of a driver!" Ryo said with an exasperated sigh.

Sage merely stayed quiet and sighed, "Fine."

"Good luck," Elayne said with a snort, "I'm taking my leave Ryo. See you at Mia's." She gave Sage a short reproving look before walking out of the room.

Ryo sighed heavily, "You really need to stop being so cold Sage, it's not very becoming of you."

Sage let out a sigh as the door closed and he looked at Ryo with narrowed eyes, "And you really shouldn't be so trusting."

Ryo frowned at Sage. Before he could actually ask further questions, Sage walked out of his own room; leaving the Ronin of Wildfire in his own thoughts.

* * *

Darkness encroached on her like a phantom. Every bone in her body felt like they were about to melt and her skin felt like it was peeling off. Though she knew she was dreaming, it still felt so real. Maybe it was or maybe she was just so tired from the day that stress toyed with her mind. A face appeared through the haze of the darkness. Red hair flowed gently around the oval shaped face with dark green eyes pleading for help. The woman looked to be in pain, and calling out. And in some distinguishable way the dreamer knew the woman too.

A soul shattering scream bolted the dreamer from her slumber. Inky black hair fell in waves around her face. Wide brown eyes didn't see the cat that meowed at her in question or felt the gentle paws kneading her arm in attempt for attention. Shaky breath was released as she finally looked down at the little calico cat with one eye. "Oh Tomomi, hi there." She picked up the cat gently who mewed and hugged Tomomi against her chest. "You felt that too?" She asked.

Tomomi only looked up at her and purred, clearly content with her arms around her. "Of course you didn't. Silly cat." She patted the cat on the head and looked out the window. The night sky didn't hold any stars or a bright moon, even though the weatherman said tonight there would be no cloud coverage and a full moon was imminent. The dreamer looked down at Tomomi and sighed sadly. "Soon, I'll have to go away. And I don't know what to expect…."

The cat merely purred on as her master pet her with abstract thoughts flying a mile a second in her master's head.

* * *

**Note:** Yeah...I am late in updating this. I'm really sorry :( but writer's block and then lack of time has been my enemy. I assure you that after next week I'll be able to get to Chapter 5! :D Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks again To LG for letting me use her character! She's a firecracker that one!


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but story plot and a few OCs. One belongs to my dearest sista LG. Written purely for entertainment.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"_Niichan, you're the best." The young child said hugging the older boy with blonde hair. The boy put a hand on her head and chuckled._

"_That's hardly true, imouto." He situated himself on the chair better to grasp the young child into his lap. She pushed her legs up and tucked them safely in the chair. "You're just saying that to get on my good side."_

_The young child just grinned and shrugged, "I learn from the best."_

_He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He poked her in the nose and shook his head, "Are the dreams getting worse?"_

_He felt her stiffen but then relaxed. "Hai, but now I'm getting images while awake… I think I'm going crazy."_

"_Didn't jii-sama explain it?"_

"_In great detail and I wish it was just me going crazy." She said with a sniff. "It scares me."_

"_It's only because you don't understand it."_

"_I understand it, Seiji-niichan." She said in a sarcastic tone. "Just because I'm six, doesn't mean I can't comprehend things."_

"_Sometimes I wonder—Ouch! Elayne, that hurt!" Seiji rubbed where she twisted flesh through his shirt._

"_Good, at least something gets you to shut up."_

_Seiji grumbled something unintelligently. Elayne merely giggled as she made a move to do it again. Seiji caught her hand and tucked it behind her back. "You're mean. Get off."_

"Prude."

_Seiji's face colored, "I am not!"_

"_Are too!"_

"_Elayne!"_

_Elayne merely grinned as she got off…the scene twisted unpleasantly, like a television channel going out due to interference._

_The smell of brine from the ocean was so strong; it burned his nose and eyes. Even though he could not see it too well, the roar on the waves on the beach signaled that he was very near. _

_He was in some kind of a semi-circular balcony with iron railing that was painted a rustic brown. He took the small bars and steadied himself. The salty air blew his blonde bangs back as he stared on over the tall buildings that still muted his vision. _

_He knew this place, but he could not come up with the proper name that kept slipping from his tongue. This place held many wonderful memories, but as he continued to view the sunny overtops of the buildings, he couldn't help but feel there was a darkness that shrouded those memories bursting to come out. _

_He closed his eyes and braced the bars more evenly as he took a steady breath and put one shoed foot on the bottom of the rail. Looking down, he could see the lights from the city emerging as the sun started to fade from the onslaught of the gloom._

_The wind began to pick up more now as he settled his other foot beside the other. He opened his eyes again when he heard screaming from below. It was a piercing, soul shattering shrill of a woman in pain. _

_The railing was ripped from his grasp and he careened downward to the oncoming concrete._

* * *

Sage bolted upright in his bed. Sunlight poured from the open curtains, casing him in an eerie glow from where the sunlight bounced off the wall and onto him. He pushed the covers off him and steadied himself on his feet. Shaking his head from the nightmare he had still lingering, he looked at the clock on his nightstand and saw that it was close to eight in the morning. How odd that he, the one who got up with the sun, had woken up so late. It rather made him feel ill at ease, even though his body had gotten more than enough sleep. He still felt so tired.

He had a few hours though to make himself more presentable. Maybe even take a nap to ease his mind.

* * *

Cye let out a heaving sigh. "Do we really have to go in your van, Kento? It looks a bit run down…" He eyed the speckled brown van with ill-disguised disgust. The front bumper was halfway off. The grill looked bent out of shape on the front and one of the front headlights was busted, with the bulb hanging on by a thin spiral wire. The back window was covered in cloth that was held with duct tape. Even the doors on the sides looked like they had their run.

"Hey! No making fun of Lola."

"You named it Lola?" Rowen asked, pushing his bag in the back of the rusty van. The hinges gave a loud groan as he slammed it closed. Rust sprayed around his sneakered feet.

"Yeah? So? Not like you hadn't named your computer, genius boy." Kento said, his face tinged with red. He had gone to the driver's side and slid in halfway before the seat fell backward with him on it. While he struggled, his foot kept hitting the badly beaten steering wheel and the horn kept on giving a sick wailing protest for the extra abuse.

Sage sighed through his nose, helped the cursing Kento up, and set the seat right. "Are you sure this death contraption is even legal?"

"You sound like my mom." Kento grumbled, "_Yes_. It is legal."

Sage walked away with a grumbled, "Yeah right…"

"No, Kento, Toshiba is the name of the company of the computer I own." Rowen replied patiently as he finished laughing at Kento's predicament.

"That's not the name you were calling it a few days ago." Cye tried not to chuckle at Rowen's face paling.

"Shut up, Cye."

"I think you called it Stella?"

"Ha! I _knew_ you had named it something!" Kento said while righting himself in his seat again. Rowen merely looked at Kento boredly, and while passing to go around to the other side, Rowen kicked the driver's seat, in which it went back again. "RO!" Kento bellowed.

Rowen high fived Cye whom was laughing and got into the van.

Ryo shook his head as he came upon the scene not too long ago. He hadn't made his presence known and just watched the playful goings of his comrades. It made him feel a bit better knowing that they were all the same despite what was to come. He had a fear though that this would all change and they would all spring forward away from their duties as Ronin Warriors.

He looked at the run down contraption Kento dubbed as his baby or Lola as mentioned before. Ryo then turned to see what White Blaze was doing and was tempted to ride Blaze all the way to Mia's…it was faster and much safer. As he was about to measure his decision whether to take the Blaze express or the hunk of junk option, Rowen called out to him.

"There you are, Ryo! What are you doing out there?" Rowen said, leaning out the window very cautiously. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"Would you be opting to ride in the back with me, Blaze?" Ryo asked White Blaze sheepishly. White Blaze gave him a look and then snorted, walking off into the trees. "Well that's not very nice…"

"C'mon Ryo!" Kento hollered, honking the pathetic horn. "Let's go!"

"Ugh…fine." Ryo said and made his way to the death contraption.

* * *

The white mansion lay in the center of a hundred or more acreage surrounded by forestry that expanded kilometers; further than the eye could see. It was just as the Ronin remembered from the last time they had been here. A feeling of nostalgia ran through them as they each looked around the front yard. Nothing had change on the outside, but they, the now occupants of the mansion were. They weren't your typical teenage boys who laughed or were free spirited as they once were.

Sighing, Sage was the first to get out. His head hurt from the recent feeling of seeing his life flash across his eyes. To the outside world, he would be considered silly, but the other three Ronin who struggled to get out only determined what Sage thought was true.

Ryo almost lost his lunch that they had procured on the way there. He leaned against a tree as he heaved in and out. Cye staggered with his bag slung over him, his eyes seeming to look but not see.

Rowen groaned and was the first to say; "Never, EVER will I ride with you in that – that Grim Reaper's death-mobile!"

"Drama queen," Kento rolled his eyes as he closed his door. Just as the door slammed shut, a loud groan came from the front and a loud bang that sounded like metal hitting concrete echoed over the land, scaring birds from out of their trees. "Oh no! My bumper fell off!"

"That's not all." Sage said, pointing to the back bumper as well. "Kento…I would highly suggest getting another vehicle. Preferably with legal and proper parts that _don't_ fall off."

"Shut up!"

"Guys," Ryo called after he straightened up, "Do you find that something's out of place?"

"Out of place?" Cye asked, walking and stopping beside Ryo who was at the front entrance. "No…"

"Normally, Elayne would be here by now – and the fact that we hadn't heard anything more from Mia—unless you heard anything, Kento?" Ryo said, turning to the Hardrock Ronin.

"Last I heard, she was about to board the plane and be on her way; but that was last night. She said she may be here by six this evening." Kento answered, looking at his phone to see the date and time of the call. "And I'm sure Elayne is somewhere around here…if not, I'm willing to bet she's probably going to come here later in the evening, too.

"Well, we have a key, so we can go straight in and settle ourselves in our rooms." Cye said. He looked at his watch and then started toward the front door.

* * *

"What do you mean, we have to stay here?"

Elayne pinched the bridge of her nose and let out an exasperated sigh. "How many times do I _have_ to explain it? You have to stay here because I can't guarantee that you won't be next. The Ronin have absolutely no clue to what is going on at this time, and with what happened to Mia was a setback in many ways."

"I know, but—"

"Just shut up while you're ahead and just do what I say!" Elayne snapped, glaring at the slightly older girl, "I know, I know, _I know_ is all you have been saying after every time I give this simple lecture that can't be processed in your small brain!"

"Oi! Elayne!"

"Well stop saying, I know!" Elayne threw her hands up in exasperation, "If you know so damn much, why don't you apply the know, shut the hell up, and stop trying to get me to say something different. It won't work."

The girl sitting opposite of Elayne in the dining room sighed, "Fine, but when they come here, what do we say to them about your premature departure?"

"Tell them I'll return shortly, but if I don't, tell them not to come looking for me. It's not their job to do this. They have to focus on the bigger issue." Elayne got up, dumped her drink in the sink, and looked out into the horizon, noticing the van in the front entrance. "Ah, right on cue."

"But they came here to speak with you about what's going on and what's coming, what do I tell them when they see me, and get suspicious?"

"Aren't you supposed to be the top of your class? For a smarty, you really have no common sense." Elayne snorted, "Tell them as much as you know – I'm sure three out of five will be have a heart attack seeing you here." Elayne ruffled the girl's hair before disappearing around the corner, "Oh!" She popped her head back and said, "Don't forget to get a picture of their surprised faces! I can use it as blackmail."

"Blackmail? But – why?"

Elayne gave her a V sign and winked, "My secret," Elayne cackled before finally disappearing without a trace.

* * *

Cye turned the lock and opened the door. The crisp smell of fresh lemons and cleaners hit his nose. Flinching from the strong odor, he walked inside and felt an odd sensation someone was already here; though it was familiar, he still had the impression it wasn't whom he had thought.

His musings were cut short when he was bumped in the back by Kento's massive luggage he carried over his shoulder, "Ouch, Kento! That hurt."

"Don't stand in the doorway like a stone and you won't get hit." Kento shrugged as he passed Cye with little to no apology in his gait.

Cye glared at Kento and sighed through his nose. It seemed like Kento's pushiness would never go away. Cye picked up his bag he had dropped and followed his best friend up the stairs. He glanced around him and felt as if someone was staring at him. He shrugged and ignored his uncomfortable feeling.

Sage entered the house after Kento with Ryo towing behind and Rowen grumbling about something under his breath as he took his extra large bag out. He lugged it behind him, dragging it with a loud sliding noise over the concrete. Sage's eye twitched as he turned and gave Rowen a lidded look.

"Do you need help with your luggage?" Sage asked through his teeth. His headache had worsened with every noise that jolted him.

Rowen looked at him with keen annoyance, "Am I doing it wrong, your Highness?"

"You could just pick it up and lift it over your shoulder instead of making that entire racket." Sage snapped. Ryo stared at Sage with undisguised shock. Sage paid his leader no mind when Ryo said his name in warning.

"Sure, I can pick it up." Rowen said sarcastically. "In fact, since His Royal Pain in the Ass wants what he wants, why don't _you _get the honor of putting it over your perfect shoulders and walk with it!" Rowen smiled tightly before moving to the wary Ronin of Halo and picked up his heavy bag as if to throw it at Sage.

Ryo sighed at the tense standoff. He forgot how grumpy these two got when they were cooped up for a long time in a car with no rest stops. Ryo grasped Rowen's bag, and threw it over his shoulder, while maneuvering his lighter one in his other hand. Rowen stumbled from the force of the tug and almost ran into the still opened door. "Ryoo!" Rowen called, "I was trying to make a point."

"Why don't you two get married already? You're already past the happy honeymooners and right at the old bitchy biddies." Ryo called over his shoulder as he walked upstairs without a backward glance.

Rowen's face colored. "Asshole."

Sage snorted and followed Ryo's example. "Close the door, while you're down there, baby."

"Sage, I have two words for you. FUuc—OW!" White Blaze rammed into Rowen like a high speeding train, barreling over his back. White Blaze disappeared around the corner.

Sage merely smirked, "Karma's a bitch, ain't it."

"Kiss my ass!"

"Looks like Blaze already lay claim to your ass." Sage said just before walking into the room. Rowen's reply was muffled by the walls.

* * *

Cye unpacked his bags, putting his items away in drawers and the closest. Kento was sitting on the bed; his bag left unopened at the foot of the bed. Cye noticed that Kento's face was puckered in an uncharacteristic way. It was as if he was contemplating something or not.

"Kento," Cye said gently, "Aren't you going to unpack?"

"Yeah, I will later." Kento mumbled, looking out of the window with creased eyebrows. It was unusual for the Ronin of Torrent to see his best friend who was normally cheery to be so downtrodden.

Not knowing how to approach Kento's mood change, Cye nodded and didn't say much after that. Just as he was about to head for the bathroom to put up his toiletries, he had that unusual feeling he was being watched again. The back hair on his neck stood on end. He looked to see if Kento had felt it too and was surprised to see the Ronin of Hardrock standing up; Kento's back to him; tense.

"I thought I felt something earlier," Kento said, "I thought it may have been Elayne but this is different."

"You too?"

"Yeah, I didn't want to say anything just yet just in case I was mistaken about it; glad I didn't. C'mon, let's go investigate." Opening the door, he walked out slowly, looking left and right to see if anyone else was out of his or her rooms.

Cye followed him a bit less cautiously.

Kento jumped when he spotted Sage leaning against the doorframe leading to his room he shared with Rowen. Sage held a finger to his lips as he pointed downstairs. "I see you've felt it too?"

"Yeah," Cye said, nodding. "Who do you think it could be?"

"It can't be Mia; she's not supposed to be here until six…unless she took an earlier flight." Kento said with a frown.

"No, it's not Mia, and it's definitely not Elayne." Ryo said, coming on the other side of Cye. "I checked Mia's room; but it hadn't been slept in since the last time she was here."

"You know, now that I think about it, it's strange that everything is so clean." Cye said, brushing his finger against the small wooden table. He showed it to the other Ronin, "I mean, Mia's not dirty by all means, but I think it's a bit strange that this place that has been in disuse so long hadn't accumulated dust."

"This is true. When we entered the house, I didn't think much of it." Rowen said, joining the other four from the room.

"That's because you were flattened against the floor before you could smell it." Sage said with a light snort.

"Shut up."

"Okay, so we're all accountable, and we all can say we felt someone's presence that's not normally here, let's go then to see." Ryo said, making his way downstairs. Just as he was about to step on down from the final stair, White Blaze ran from the kitchen and pounced on Ryo. Ryo cried out as he flew onto Sage who was behind him, which resulted in a domino effect. Kento was the last one to fall and hit his head on the banister after trying to reduce his fall.

"White Blaze! What the hell?!" They all chorused.

Laughter sprang behind them, which caused them to look up in bewilderment.

"You all haven't changed, have you."

"Huh!? Kayura!?"

* * *

Note: Cliffy! ^ ^ Sorry it took so long to bring this up. I had focused all my attention on Redemption of Me and Insatiable Memories. Those were two very important to write too as well. Plus, my writer's block for this story intensified. I'm back for the most part. I hope you enjoyed and thanks for all the reviews! :D


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